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Convoy
The Convoy range was a series of Matchbox tractor-trailers units introduced in 1982.Kevin McGimpsey & Stewart Orr, Collecting Matchbox Diecast Toys - The First Forty Years, First Edition, 1989, pages 235-236 Replacing the tractor trailer units in the Matchbox 900 range, they have been offered with varying names (e.g. Super Rigs - see more complete list below), and were produced in two distinct generations, the latest being known as Super Convoy. Trucks and trailers from the same generation are interchangeable, but those from different generations do not fit together. Numbering Convoy trucks is complex, as sets were often numbered separately from the tractors and trailers. This article addresses the numbers of the trucks and trailers, rather than the sets. Exceptions to the usual Convoy tractor/trailer formula are the CY010A Kenworth C.O.E. Racing Tranporter and the CY030A Grove Crane, neither of which features an articulated vehicle.www.mbxforum.com Retrieved 28 November 2016 Before Convoy 1-75 tractor-trailers The first articulated tractor-trailer model issued under the Matchbox name was the Scammell Scarab Mechanical Horse and Trailer, released in 1955 as No.10 in what would become the standard Matchbox Series 1-75 range. In the 1970s the 1-75 series featured two other tractor-trailers, the Freeway Gas Tanker and the Articulated Truck. These vehicles consisted of a small two-axle tractor and a single-axle semi-trailer in a vehicle that fit into a standard box or blister pack. Tractor and trailer were detachable, but neither was of much play value on its own: the tractor was only 1 inch long (and about an inch tall), making it unstable without its trailer, and the trailer lacked any front support without its tractor, leaving it lying rear-end up when uncoupled. Thus, the idea of (in play) dropping off one trailer and picking up another one, an essential feature of the trucking industry, was awkward at best. The Container Port (PS-1) play set, introduced circa 1976 and featuring the then-new intermodal containers, included the Articulated Truck's tractor with a longer trailer designed to accept two first-generation shipping containers, but this truck only appeared as part of set PS-1. Accessory Packs The Accessory Packs range, introduced in 1956, included the A-2 Matchbox Car Transporter, which is an articulated tractor-trailer unit. This was the first toy issued by Matchbox in the size and style of the future Convoy models. Major Packs The Major Packs range, produced from the mid 1950s through to the mid 1960s, included a number of articulated tractor-trailer units such as the M-2 Bedford Tractor & York Freightmaster Trailer. King Size / Super Kings The larger scale King Size range of the 1960s and the subsequent Super Kings series of the 1970s and 1980s both featured several articulated trucks, but most were permanently attached to their trailers. Even in cases where trucks and trailers were detachable, lack of a universal hitch impeded trading trailers between tractors. 900 The Matchbox 900 range was created in 1979 to replace the Two Packs range and to accommodate four new tractor/trailer combinations. These articulated vehicles featured tractors the same size as the mainline vehicles, using Superfast wheels, and bore the Superfast logo on their bases. The trailers had an inverted T''-shaped tab that fitted into a ''T-shaped slot on the tractor. These were the first Matchbox trucks where part of the play value was intended to be the interoperability of different cabs and trailers. Two two-axle tractors was offered, the Long Haul and, from 1981, a Leyland. Long Haul was most frequently seen, appearing in at least two colors, green and red. The articulated trailer functioned as a flatbed trailer, capable of hauling two first-generation shipping containers. Different designs featured the articulated trailer fitted with a plastic box as a box trailer, or with plastic stakes for carrying pipes or timber. 900 Tractors 900 Trailers Convoy for Convoy trucks, from 1982. The case's two trays each hold twelve trucks in a six-by-two arrangement, for 24 trucks total. Josiah Carberry Collection.]] The tractor/trailer units in the 900 range were replaced in 1982 by the Convoy range of vehicles, offering a greater variety of tractors and trailers. Trailers were now fitted with a ball-and-post type of hook, fitting into a keyhole slot in the tractors. As with the first generation, wheels and size were the same as mainline vehicles. Convoy tractor-trailer sets were also sold as Super Rigs and Super Star Transporters, and in larger sets as Team Convoy, a name not exclusive to tractor-trailers. Similarly, at least one Highway Cruisers set featured a G2 tractor trailer plus a car. In 1982 a special carry case was issued for storing and carrying tractor trailers; this case bore the name Highway Express. Tractors Most Convoy tractors were based on actual vehicles. The numbering is particularly complex, as some of the trucks were also issued independantly in the mainline series without trailers, but with mainline numbers. The Manufacturing numbers appear in this table, where available. Trailers Super Convoy The next generation of Convoy sets is slightly larger than the mainline vehicles, sharing its size and wheels with Real Working Rigs, instead. These vehicles are marketed as Super Convoy trucks. A post and flange on the trailer fits into a keyhole slot (larger than the keyhole slot on the second generation trucks) on the tractor. With the Real Working Rigs, the Super Convoy trucks fill a market niche similar to the Super Kings trucks of the 1970s. Tractors Trailers List of Series Names ''Convoy'' in other Series Convoy trucks also appeared in other series, non-exclusively: * Highway Cruisers, where a tractor trailer appeared with a car. * Big Movers, a series that also featured buses in the same scale. References Category:Tractor Trailers Category:Convoy Category:Super Convoy